Atomizer



(No Model.)

N. R. GORDON.

ATOMIZER N0. 402,921. Patented May 7, 1889.

N. PETERS. Phowmm n m. Washinglou. a c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NOEL R; GORDON, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

ATOMIZER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,921, dated May 7, 1889. Application filed December 10, 1888. Serial No. 298,154. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NOEL R. GORDON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Springfield, in the county of Sanga'mon and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Atomizers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved atomizer, showing the tube and stopper in one position, and Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the tube in another position in relation to the stopper.

This invention relates to atomizers in which a bent tube is passed through the cork or stopper of the vessel containing the material to be atomized; and the improvement consists in providing a means whereby a greater or less amount of air may be admitted or forced into the vessel above the liquid to be atomized, and thus a larger or smaller quantity of the liquid be forced into the tube as the device is operated, as will be hereinafter more particularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which the same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures, A indicates a bottle or other vessel in which the liquid to be atomized is contained.

B is the stopper or cork for the same, which is provided with two vertical apertures, C D, through which pass the legs E and F of the bent tube G. The outer end of one of these legs, E, is provided with an ordinary bulb, H, or other means by which a current of air is forced into and through the tube for atomizing the liquid. The other leg, F, is provided with any desired style of nozzle, 1, while the tube is provided at its lowest point, or where the two legs are joined, with a small hole or aperture, J, through which the liquid passes into the tube, to be forced out at the nozzle by the current of air that is driven through the tube by the compression of the bulb H.

So far the construction and operation of my invention are the same as shown and described in my former application, with the exception that in that device the legs of the tube were rigidly secured in the cover, which might be a thin sheet of metal or other substance, while in this device the stopper must be composed of a packing materiak-as cork, rubber, or other pliable or yielding material which will act as a packing around the legs of the tube and make them air-tight and still permit of the legs being moved up and down through the apertures, and also have more or less thickness to retain the legs in position, and also to act as the means for regulating the amount of air to be admitted above the liquid in the vessel.

In my former application I regulated the pressure of the air upon the liquid in the ves: sel by means of a separate hole through the cover, which could be left open or be closed by placing the finger upon it. In the present application the amount of air admitted to the interior of the vessel containing the liquid, and consequently the pressure upon the liquid, is regulated by providing the down leg E with a series of small holes or apertures, K, above the liquid in the vessel and just below the stopper. When it is desired to permit a larger quantity of air to enter the vessel, the tube is forced down through the stopper until all of these holes are below it and open into the vessel. Now, when the bulb H is compressed, a portion of the current of air is forced through the holes into the interior of the vessel, while the remainder of the current is forced through the tube, carrying the liquid that has passed into it through the aperture J out with it, and converts it into a spray or atomizes it. As soon as the compression upon the bulb is relaxed the pressure of the air which has escaped through these holes K, and the little that also escapes through the hole J, will force a considerable quantity of the liquid into the tube through the aperture J, where it will remain until the bulb is again compressed, when it will be carried out with the current of air, as above described, while another portion of the current will pass into the vessel above the liquid through the holes K, ready for forcing a succeeding quantity into the tube when the bulb is again relaxed.

If it is desired to have aless quantity of the liquid forced into the tube to be atomized, all that is necessary is to have less pressure upon the liquid, which in turn is accomplished by admitting less air into the vessel above the liquid. To admit less air into the vessel requires that the number or size of the holes in the leg E, through which the air is forced into the vessel, be decreased. I have found that the number of the holes could be decreased in a more simple and expeditious manner than could be the size; and my invention therefore consists in the manner of quickly and eife'ctively changing the number of holes or apertures in the legs through which air can pass into the interior of the vessel above the liquid. This I have accomplished by making the stopper of the vessel out of the yielding material, as above described, and also of such a thickness that the legs of the tube may be slipped through it until all of the holes K are within the aperture through the stopper, and thus be closed so that no air can be forced out through them into the interior of the vessel. In this manner all of the holes may be closed, so that no air at all will be admitted into the vessel, except the small amount which escapes through the aperture J, and consequently but a very small amount of liquid will pass into the interior of the tube during the relaxations of the bulb, and when the bulb is compressed this small quantity will be all that will be forced out at the nozzle, and as it will be subject to the full. current of air it will be projected in an exceedingly-fine spray. On the other hand, the legs of the tube may be easily forced down through the stopper until all of the holes are below the stopper, and are consequently open, so that when the bulb is compressed a quantity of the air will escape into the interior of the vessel, and a larger quantity of the liquid will be forced into the tube, to be acted upon by the current of air which has been lessened by the amount of air that has escaped into the vessel, and as there is a larger quantity of the liquid to be acted upon the spray that will be forced from the nozzle will not be as fine as that which is caused by a greater current of air acting upon a smaller quantity of liquid, as above described.

Of course the amount and character of the spray to be thrown from the nozzle can be regulated between the two extremes by simply forcing the legs of the tube through the stopper until more or less of the holes in the down leg are covered or exposed.

As the upper portion of the legs of the tube are always projecting from the stopper of the vessel, the change can be made easily and quickly by catching hold of the exposed legs and forcing them down into the vessel or pulling them out until the requisite number of holes has been exposed to produce the kind and amount of spray wanted. Aside from regulating the amount of air to be admitted into the vessel, the holes K will prevent any liquid from being drawn back into the bulb II, which is a very important feature in devices of this kind.

Instead of providing the leg of the tube with separate holes, as above described, it could be provided with only one hole, which would be made as long as the distance from the end holes of the series; or, in other words, the one hole could be made into a slit in the side of the tube, which could be exposed or covered entire or in part in the same manner as above described for the several holes, and thus avery fine gradation of the spray be obtained; and instead of making the entire cork of a packing material, as described, it could be made out of any suitable material and the interior of the vertical apertures through it be provided with a packing material.

It is evident that the tube and stopper can be made as an article of manufacture, which can be sold upon the market, the purchaser only providing the vessel and bulb, which can be had at any stores where such class of goods are ordinarily kept for sale. In this manner the original cost of an atomizer can be considerably reduced, as the stopper and tube could be sent without the extra cost of the other parts and without the danger of breakage in transmission.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. As a new article of manufacture, a stopper for an atomizer provided with a packing and a bent tube through the same, one of the legs of which is provided with a series of holes or apertures below the stopper and adjacent thereto, substantially as set forth.

2. In an atomizer, the combination of a vessel the stopper of which is provided with two vertical holes, a bent tube, the legs of which pass through the holes, one of which legs is provided with a series of holes below the stopper and adjacent thereto, a bulb, and a nozzle, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NOEL R. GORDON.

\Vitnesses:

J. H. Cnouou, J. E. Cnonon. 

